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A transparent crystal of tetrahedrally bonded carbon atoms, reads 10 on the Mohs scale, takes a billion years to make and has a thermal conductivity of 900–2,320 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹. Thats right brain-boxes, the much sought after, undisputed king of the jewels, the Diamond.

Its fantastic properties employed  by many industries, anywhere from diamond tipped drill-bits to high performance bearings, these phenomenons of geology are loved by many.

Therefore in the search for a ring, one must be aware of all the intricacies that are involved in diamond grading and selection. in this entry, we aim to make looking for your diamond, a little bit clearer.

Some of you may be aware of the 4 C’s that are associated with diamonds. These are:

Cut

Colour

Clarity

Carat

So how do they affect the diamond? and what do they mean?

Cut – shape would probably be more transparent terminology, a factor referring to its physical appearance whether it be round, square, oblong etc. but there are also other factors involved. Cut refers to proportion, symmetry and polish. The quality of the physical action of cutting the diamond, determines its refractive qualities. A diamond must be in exact proportion to maximise its refractive index. when a diamond is cut to exacting proportions, light bounces around repeatedly inside it, giving it it’s scintillating visual qualities.

Colour - Diamonds are graded on a colour scale from D to Z, D being the most desirable and Z being least desirable. The grade of a diamond is based upon its colour, a flawless diamond or ‘white’ diamond  are considered best so would be graded D.

D, E and F are the top three grades, there being negligible differences between the three. However G – J graded diamonds are considered near colourless and are still very desirable.

However the same rules do not apply to coloured diamonds, such as pinks, yellows and blues. The grade of these is determined by the strength of the hue of the diamond and in these cases the opposite is true, the more colour – the better!

Clarity - Judged by what are known as “inclusions”, these inclusions are the determining characteristics of how clear the diamond is. literally an inclusion is ‘a solid fragment, liquid globule, or pocket of gas enclosed in a mineral or rock’ when referring to diamonds the definition includes any feature which impedes the free passage of light through the stone. The classification runs from FL-flawless to L3-very easily visible inclusions.

The best diamonds for clarity will be graded: FL, IF, WS1,WS2, VS1, VS2

Carat - From the Greek kerátion, a diamonds size is measured in Carat weight, which is effectively a measure of a diamonds mass. Carat weight is commonly expressed in points, each carat is 100 points or 1/5 of a gram. put simply, the higher the carat, the greater the mass, the more expensive it is.

It is a complex combination of these four factors that determines quality and beauty, and eventually price.

A slightly more long-winded post this time round, but hopefully of use!

stay tuned for the next installment

featured jewels from harrywinston.com